Daily Archives: September 6, 2011

That beautiful image above is not just an amazing photograph of some of the worlds best female athletes, but it also my desktop background and inspiration for the 2011/2012 year. This summer has basically sucked fitness wise and my life has just been in transition. One thing after another, struggling, moving, cutting off friendships, getting fed up with dating, and just a bunch of other annoying distractions. The one good thing about all the stuff that has gone on, is the fact I’m now moving to a nice quiet neighborhood and a complex that has an amazing fitness center that nobody barely ever uses.

Now that things are slowly coming together and I officially can move into our apartment on Saturday (still not moved in yet,) I can plot out a goal for Fall and Spring. My vital signs and overall health are great according to the doctor, but I have this desire to make over my body completely. I’m young, single, and have a lot going for me, so it would be a mistake not use this time to get the best body possibly and have an uber healthy lifestyle.

When I have a great fitness center or a nice neighborhood to run in, I’m a fitness junkie. But the last neighborhood I lived in was so crappy and not well planned out for a pleasant jog. There is nothing worse I hate then not being able to have a pleasant jog accompanied by a vibrant natural scenery. So since the last neighborhood lacked that and I didn’t have time to catch plans, trains, and buses to the nearest gym, I made do with the treadmill my mom bought. I maintained a decent shape, but most of the weight as usual is in my legs. I love running on the treadmill, but some days I just want to switch it up.

I missed being able to walk out the door everyday, cross the parking lot, and get on the elliptical for an hour. On days that weren’t cardio intensive, I’d do some strength training. I love being in the gym and just getting totally drenched, so I’m excited to be having a gym again literally right outside of our new building. The pounding footsteps on the treadmill are liberating, but I prefer slaving away on the elliptical and competing in an imaginary race on the stationary bike. Those are my machines of choice, but I haven’t been able to consistently have one incorporated in my lifestyle.

But the inconveniences are finally coming to an end. Once I move in on Saturday, it’s so on! I already tightened up on my eating and went back to eating my favorite meals such as whole wheat turkey wraps, salads, apples, light dishes with chicken, tuna, and multi-grain Wheat Thins. But I realized that I need to have some type of aspiration, a goal that my competitive personality can strive for. So I began doing some digging on the Web and ran across the Nike Women’s Make Yourself campaign.

The Nike Women Make Yourself campaign and the Nike Women blog are the ultimate fitspiration. I used to play volleyball and I have this passion for sports, but I don’t want to take up volleyball again. I think I’m going to get into amazing shape and start falling back in love with cycling. I like the fact that when your cycling, you are the mode of transportation. The only way to get back home or to where you started is all on you, no easy way out. That statement makes it sound like a pain in the ass, but seriously, cycling is a great way to stay in top of the line shape and also have an exhilarating adventure.

Reading the Nike Women blog and watching the inspirational stories from the Make Yourself team have really inspired me to take my love for fitness to new heights. It’s not just about trying to achieve this unrealistic image, but it’s more so the reality that you can do anything you set your mind to. I love a good challenge and the Make Yourself campaign is the right push I need to get the job done.

I didn’t need too much of a push, since I grew up playing sports and having an a zest for being active, but that photograph does inspire me to go to another level. This is my year to finally have a consistent fitness goal and be the best women I can be for myself, so I’m going to “make myself.” A lot of tough work is ahead, but now that I have a gym with tons of equipment and a beautiful lake to run around down the street, I think it will come together very nicely. A year from now I’ll be showing off my toned 6ft frame and cycling every weekend, I might even consider running a marathon!

There is an athlete inside of all of us, we just have to take the courage to make it happen and deal with the pain. So in the words of Nike, Just Do It!

Jasmine McGee (ThinkSoul25)

I'm a quirky hipster, house music junkie, 6ft Amazonian Warrior(Wonder Woman fanatic), I'm also a coffee Addict, gamer, lover of culture, and an urban nomad that grew up in Colorado, but currently calls the DMV home.

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